Blackpool (A) match preview

Rovers are on the road once again when they travel to face Blackpool on Tuesday night in Sky Bet League One.

Rovers will be looking to get back to winning ways at Bloomfield Road following their 2-0 defeat away at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

Blackpool meanwhile were on the end of a bit of luck at the weekend, with Taylor Moore’s 96th-minute own-goal handing them a point against Southend United, with close to 16,000 in attendance for their ‘homecoming’ game.

Brief history of Blackpool FC

Blackpool play at the 17,338-capacity Bloomfield Road stadium, which has been their home since 1900.

They are nicknamed the Seasiders after their proximity to the coast, also being dubbed the Tangerines due to their distinctive shirt colour.

The Seasiders were in the Premier League as recently as 2011, being promoted via the Championship play-offs the previous year after a 3-2 win over Cardiff City in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Blackpool were promoted to League One alongside Rovers in 2017, also via the play-offs after beating Exeter City at the national stadium to ensure that they, like Rovers automatically, were promoted back to the third tier at the first attempt after relegation at the end of the previous campaign.

Who’s the gaffer?

Terry McPhillips will be the man in the away dugout when the two sides meet on Tuesday, having taken over permanently in September following a temporary spell at the helm. He replaced Gary Bowyer who departed Bloomfield Road after just one game of this season, and after losing just one of his nine games in caretaker charge, he was handed the job on a 12-month rolling contract.

In all, he has taken charge of 46 games so far, winning 19, drawing 14 and losing 13, leaving him with a total win percentage of 41.3 per cent.

Ones to watch

Jay Spearing

The midfielder is a man with Premier League experience, making 30 appearances for Liverpool after coming through the Reds youth academy. He made his Liverpool debut in December 2008, coming on as a substitute against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, going on to agree a new three-year deal on Merseyside at the end of the 2009/09 season. Spearing left Anfield after a 16-year association with the club, signing for Bolton Wanderers in 2013 after a loan spell the season before. He joined Blackpool in October 2017, initially until the end of the season before extending his contract at Bloomfield Road, and scored his first two Blackpool goals against Bradford City back in September.

Mark Howard

The experienced stopper joined the Tangerines ahead of the start of this season following two years with Bolton Wanderers. Howard began his career with Arsenal, though he is probably more well-known for his four years with Sheffield United, where he also holds the record for the most consecutive clean sheets for the club, having kept eight during the 2013/14 campaign. Howard most recently spent time with Bolton, helping to keep the Trotters in the Championship on the final day of last season, before his switch to Bloomfield Road, claiming the number one spot immediately upon his arrival.

Oliver Turton

The former Crewe Alexandra man joined the Tangerines back in the summer of 2017, signing a two-year deal with the club. Turton spent 15 years in total with Crewe, making close to 200 appearances for the Alex, helping them to win the Football League Trophy in 2013, as well as promotion from League Two the year before. After his lengthy time with Crewe, he joined Blackpool ahead of their return to League One, making 41 appearances for the Pool and scoring once in the last campaign, with his solitary strike coming in the 3-3 thriller at the Keepmoat Stadium back in August 2017, with a spectacular curling effort to make it 2-2. He has scored once this season too, opening the scoring in the Tangerines’ 2-1 win away at Southend United in November.

Who’s the ref?

Peter Wright will be the man in the middle when the two sides meet on Tuesday night, and he will be joined be assistant referees Matthew Parry and Steven Rushton, with Billy Smallwood as the four

Last time out

Rovers came out on top when the two sides met back in November in the league, with Herbie Kane opening the scoring with a stunning effort from distance that went in off the underside of the crossbar. John Marquis then doubled Rovers’ lead 12 minutes from time to seal a crucial three points in his side’s play-off push.

Rovers were also victorious on their last trip to Bloomfield Road, winning 2-1 on Good Friday in 2018. Tommy Rowe opened the scoring before Colin Daniel netted the equaliser not long after the break. Rowe stepped up though once again, scoring after a neat free-kick routine to grab the win on the coast.

Tickets for Rovers’ next Sky Bet League One game at home against South Yorkshire rivals and fellow promotion hopefuls Barnsley on Friday March 15 are still available via the Club Doncaster Box Office.

Supporters are reminded that Friday’s fixture against the Tykes is also now an ALL-TICKET fixture.